An Expedition to Barrow Part II: Taking a taxi to tourist objects

 What's this Barrow place all about?

Barrow, one of the farthest north cities in the world, has a population of more than 4,000 people about 56% of whom are Alaska Native. Frederick William Beechey gave Barrow its name because he wanted to honor Sir John Barrow of the British Admiralty who was a promoter of Arctic voyages. The Inupiat Eskimo people who have lived there for over 1,000 years have traditionally called it Ukpeagvik, which means "place where snowy owls are hunted". But since that's difficult to pronounce, let's go with Barrow.
This place, as could be predicted from its location, is pretty dang cold. The record low is -56*F and the record high is 79*F but there is also windchill from the Arctic Ocean breezes to keep in mind. The day I went was a typical summer day; it was 41*F with 38 mph winds. Then there's the issue of daylight, or lack thereof. Starting November 18 the sun sets and doesn't come back up over the horizon until January 22, a fact that the film industry rather recently capitalized on with the vampire film "30 Days of Night" starring Josh Hartnett. Clearly the reverse is true for the summer months from May 11 to July 31 but since the average summer temperature is only just above freezing it's not as though you could really sunbathe or anything. Incidentally, Barrow is also one of the cloudiest places in the world. Basically, this is a difficult place to call home but people come from as far away as Korea to do just that.

A smooth landing in Barrow meant time to explore the sights! 

 

Upon landing in Barrow we took off on our Expedition. Since we had decided not to pay the $100 each for an official tour of Barrow, we were free to roam about as we wished. 

The first stop on our unofficial tour of Barrow was the Arctic Ocean. 

Here are some sights seen along the way.

 The insignia on this vehicle, located next to the fire station, indicate that it was at some point in its perhaps glorious history used as an official emergency automotive.

It seems that every home in Barrow has at least one ATV, dog and car or truck.

It does also seem like there is a lot of random stuff in peoples' yards but considering how expensive it is to get things up here since they must be either shipped up by cargo plane or barge, I'm guessing there aren't too many options for getting junk out so it just sits there.

Wooowhoooo! I'm at the Arctic Ocean!!

After dipping our fingers in the ocean, we headed into town in search of a taxi.

The folks at Pepe's Mexican restaurant were kind enough to call us a cab and our cabbie, who, incidentally, came from Bangkok, Thailand, took us around to places of interest a ways out of town.

These are the whale bones and boat frames next to Brower's Cafe.

Here is a traditional stretched hide boat.

In case you weren't aware, whales can be quite large. I believe this is a jaw bone from a Bowhead whale.
Random fun fact: The Bowhead whale has the largest mouth of any living animal.

Here are more whale bones located out on the way to Point Barrow, site of the historic attempted rescue of three trapped California Gray whales in 1988 which brought Eskimo whalers, the National Guard, the oil industry, environmentalists, and federal and state officials together. I think two whales did end up getting rescued. Drew Barrymore is working on a film, "Everybody Loves Whales", about this event. I love the IMDb plot synopsis: "A nonprofit aid worker and a government worker spark as they work together in the effort to free three California gray whales who have become trapped under the ice of the Arctic Circle." Come on people! I hate to break it to you but the Arctic Circle is quite a bit south of Point Barrow!

Barrow got a super nice football field in 2007 and we were informed that the local team, the Barrow Whalers, had just won the game they had played the night before our arrival.
Give me a "W" ... Goooooooo Whalers!
Yea, I'm not sure what I'm doing but it doesn't look like a "W". I thought you just flailed your arms about and yelled stuff.
Clearly not cheer-leading material!

Since our taxi driver was from Thailand I asked him if he missed Thai food or if there were any Thai restaurants in town. He informed me that there was one but it closed recently. Too bad, a hot curry would have been swell. He said that now he cooks Thai food for himself everyday. He also informed us that he came to Barrow from Bangkok 17 years ago to work in the grocery store owned by a Thai acquaintance of his and evidently he likes it enough here to stay even during the winters.

While much of Barrow seems like it has seen better days, there is also evidence of improvement projects like this playground and the cultural heritage center. There is also a newer public library.

People from Barrow often comment on the high cost of living there and since I was curious I asked if the cabbie wouldn't mind dropping us at a shopping center so we could check out the prices for ourselves. This place is basically like a mini-Walmart from what I could tell. Another example of a newly constructed place. We bid our taxi driver adieu and stepped into a brightly lit one-stop-shopping center.

I like that you can get an atikluk or mask with your Fritos and Pepsi.

Milk does seem pricey.

And if you want organic, forget about it!

Ok, but what about the Cornflakes?

 Hey, at least the Fritos are on sale!

They were $9.75 but buy them today for a mere $7.75!

High prices got you down? Buy a quad and a gun and go fend for yourself out on the tundra!

These are a couple of examples of what one could find on the super market bulletin board. Does anyone have any idea what the lime green one is about? How could I win $600 exactly? Is is worth going back to Barrow to attempt? The bird one is interesting. It gives the English and Inupiaq names for birds found in the area and whether or not it is okay to shoot them. I don't see the snowy owl.

This one is also interesting. I'm curious when the Rosetta Stone plans to have new Inupiaq language tutorials ready for public usage. This will perhaps also help with indigenous language preservation which is a huge issue in Alaska. The Alaska Native Language Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks has been busy since 1972 trying to document languages and prevent their extinction. According to their data on Inupiaq, which means "real person", the language is spoken in Alaska by roughly 3,000 people who are mostly over the age of 40. In order for languages to "stay alive" they must be passed on to future generations. The more young speakers a language has the better its chances. Inupiaq is doing comparatively very well. There are several languages with only a few or even just one remaining speaker(s).
If you have a lot of free time here's a link to an online Inupiaq dictionary.

Here's a bit if Inupiaq from the super market bulletin board for you to study.
~*~
We ate the lunches we had brought from home in the store's foyer before embarking on the next part of our Expedition to Barrow: A walk to Pepe's
Stay tuned for my next entry!

An Expedition to Barrow Part I: Tales of the flight

A brief outline of a Noble Expedition to one of the farthest north cities in the world

Date of Expedition: Sunday, on the 8th day of the month of August in the year 2010
Destination: Barrow, Alaska
Approximate location: 320 miles north of the Arctic Circle and 1,300miles south of the North Pole
Exact Coordinates: Latitude 71* 17' 44" N, Longitude 156* 45' 59" W
Mode of transport: Piper-Navajo Chieftain, a trusty 10 person, twin-engine aircraft
Flight plan: Depart Fairbanks at 8 am. Fly to Coldfoot, Alaska to refuel plane in case there is no fuel available in Barrow, as is sometimes the case. Take 10 minute "tour" of Coldfoot (i.e. go to Cafe to use the restroom). Depart Coldfoot a bit after 9 am. Arrive in Barrow at approximately 11am.
Barrow itinerary: Uh...Walk around and see some stuff. Eat at Pepe's Mexican restaurant. Swim in Arctic Ocean.
Adventurers on this Noble Barrow Expedition: 1) Elizabeth Angeles, fellow co-worker at the great Northern Alaskan Tour Company, 2) Raul Angeles, her husband, and yours truly, 3) Rowan Beraza.

~*~

The flight to Barrow

Our expedition began with an excellent briefing by my co-worker Mike, who pointed out Barrow on the map and explained our route. He also told some jokes. He was allegedly lured to a teaching job in a rural Alaskan village by the promise that there was a beautiful woman behind every tree. Upon arrival to his new home in a remote location he was disappointed at the discovery that there were no trees and consequently a lack of attractive women. So he moved to Fairbanks.

The tea which accompanied our pre-departure briefing was also pleasant. 

 When the pilot was ready, Mike led us out on the tarmac and helped us board the plane. 

Here's Bill asking us if we're ready to take off.

Hells yea we're ready!

 Goodbye Fairbanks!

The University of Alaska Fairbanks

Along the way our pilot kept us informed of what we were passing over. This is the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, which stretches the entire length of the state from Pump Station One in Prudhoe Bay all the way to Valdez 800 miles South and was built between 1975 and 1977. More than half the pipeline is above ground due to the prevalence of permafrost, which causes soil instability when it melts. The above ground sections are constructed in a zig-zag pattern, which our pilot jokingly explained was because the government had ordered too much pipe but didn't want to waste it. Of course the real reason has to do with the pipe's contracting and expanding with the extreme temperature changes that occur in Alaska. The zig-zag also allows for movement during the frequent earthquakes that shake Alaska.
Here you can see the pipeline as it exits an underground section.

This is one of the pump stations just out of Fairbanks.

A ways out of Fairbanks there is visual evidence of the record breaking forest fire year we had in 2004 which burned 26,142 kilometers squared (about 10,093 square miles). Apparently the smoke caused by these fires affected areas as far away as Houston, Texas. Most of the fires were caused by lightening and were fueled by a combination of draught and winds.

Forest fire fighters generally let fires burn themselves out naturally since most of Alaska is uninhabited and it's only a matter of time before fires are greeted by one of Alaska's ample water sources.

More burned area.

The mighty Yukon River.

Our stop in Coldfoot was quick. Here is the cafe featured on the T.V. series "Ice Road Truckers" which airs on the History channel.

I bought some gum and was entertained by the accompanying location appropriate fun fact.

How many friends would it take to heat an igloo to 61*F in 20 minutes when the external temperature is -50*F?

Goodbye Coldfoot! It's been swell but I've got a date with Barrow!!

Smoke from forest fires this year started to affect visibility.

So we flew higher above the clouds.

As we neared Barrow our pilot flew very low to the ground in the hopes that we would spot a herd of Caribou. We were not so lucky, but it was still cool.

As you can observe, the terrain once you get north of the Brooks Mountain Range changes quite a bit, becoming very flat. I'm not sure, but I think the specks of white are snow.

A first glimpse of Barrow, Alaska and the Arctic Ocean.
~*~
Stay tuned for An Expedition to Barrow Part II: A walk around town

Random Raftness

Here are more pictures of the Regatta rafting extravaganza taken by my friend Jenny Johnson who supported us at the finish. 

I finally got a chance to ride on the airplane!

Getting this thing in and out of the water was a chore. It was not light. I managed to have something else to do during those times.

~*~

Here is a random photo taken at a major intersection in Fairbanks to entertain you.